Bloody sectarian clashes in Syria threaten fragile peace

Fighting erupts between the Druze and Bedouin in southern city of Sweida, leaving 100 dead before a curfew is imposed

- STEFFIE BANATVALA

Dozens of people were killed when clashes broke out between armed groups from the Druze religious minority and Sunni Bedouin clans in southern Syria, raising fresh concerns of a breakdown in the country's fragile postwar order.

Fighting erupted in the Druze-majority Sweida city on Sunday, after an armed robbery of a Druze man led to retaliatory attacks and kidnappings between Druze and Bedouin clans, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The interior ministry said at least 30 people were killed and 100 injured, while the UK-based monitoring group said 99 people were killed.

Thousands of people were also displaced in what was the first time sectarian fighting had erupted inside the city of Sweida itself.